Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards, the former Olympian ski jumper and epitome of the English amateur, finally proved his athletic credentials on national TV on Saturday.
Britain's first competitor in the event had gone down in Olympic history with his spectacular failures in both the 70 and 90-metre jumps during the 1988 winter games.
But all that was put behind him on BBC TV when he won Celebrity Winter Wipeout by a country mile, pocketing £10,000 for charity.
Wipeout is the BBC's supreme test of athleticism and stamina presented by Richard Hammond and Amanda Byram. It requires contestants to overcome a series of tough obstacle courses in a park near Buenos Aires.
To win the event, Edwards had to see off serious challenges from the likes of West End music star Connie Fisher, a reality TV 'star' and model who cried off, terrified by the Ski Lift course, and athlete Derek Redmond. In the final he fought off the challenge of Tony Mortimer out of 90s boy band E17.
"Eddie was terrific and proved to the world that he does have the right stuff," said a BBC spokesperson. "The man is clearly a top competitor and while he may have been the oldest contestant he easily walked each section of the contest.
"He certainly laid a few ghosts there. Well done Eddie - magnificent!"
